Troy Brown gets fitting Foxboro send-off

FOXBORO — One simple sign, held aloft by a Patriots fan, summed up a 15-year NFL career better than any scoreboard video tribute possibly could.

TIM WEISBERG

FOXBORO — One simple sign, held aloft by a Patriots fan, summed up a 15-year NFL career better than any scoreboard video tribute possibly could.

"What can Brown do for you?"

An allusion to the UPS commercials with the same tag line, printed below it were the five words that can best describe what Troy Brown meant to the Patriots franchise and this region: "He can do it all."

His last official act on the football field for the Patriots was to serve as honorary captain for the pre-game coin toss, along with his two sons. But even at age 37, he felt as if he could have played in the game if necessary. Why not, with 39-year-old Brett Favre slinging the football for the New York Jets?

"The fans are here to cheer, not to hear a sob story or sad speech. I'm going to try to put a little energy behind it," Brown told reporters before the game.

He delivered during the halftime ceremony, walking to the podium set up along the 50-yard line with an American flag tucked into the front pocket of his suit jacket. When he took to the microphone, he uttered the one catchphrase that is perhaps just as popular, if not more, than any of the catches made in his 15-year career.

"Bingo!" he shouted, in reference to his United Way commercial that began airing in 2001. "One last time, we've got bingo!"

After a brief speech that was more rah-rah than goodbye, Brown pointed to the three Super Bowl championship banners nestled in the southeast corner of Gillette Stadium.

"Whenever you guys are missing me and I'm not around, look at those banners," Brown said. "I see a lot of blood, a lot of sweat and a lot of tears. There's a lot of me in those banners. But I didn't do it for me. I did it for my city."

Brown, tied with Julius Adams for second-most seasons by a Patriot at 15, owns the franchise record for most receptions (557), and his 6,366 receiving yards are second only to Stanley Morgan's 10,352. He went to his only Pro Bowl in 2001, on the strength of a season in which he amassed 1,199 yards on 101 catches — a team record until Wes Welker's 112 last season — en route to New England's first Super Bowl win.

He is also the team's all-time leading punt returner (2,625 yards on 270 returns), and is tied for the team record with three returned for touchdowns. In 2004, when pressed into emergency duty in the defensive backfield, Brown played the final nine games and all three postseason contests at nickel back, with 17 tackles and three interceptions.

He could have come back and played this season. The Jets were interested in signing him.

"When they asked me what date I wanted to do (Troy Brown Night) I picked this date, and I didn't even know who they were playing. It turned out to be the Jets. I was like, 'Geez, what a coincidence,'" Brown said. "I could be wearing that green and white one more time like I did in college (at Marshall), but I'm satisfied with my career. It was a great run."

And even though he's at peace with his decision to hang it up, the drive is still there.

"I miss the guys, I miss the locker room," Brown said. "The things I miss the most are those morning meetings — the 8 a.m. meetings with Bill — and getting some good laughs, as long as he wasn't talking about me. We had some good laughs in those meetings."

But Brown also said that it made him happy to retire as a Patriot. In the end, he couldn't envision himself playing anywhere else.

"I ever feel that itch to come back, the only person I'll be calling is Bill Belichick. If he ever needs me to come in and do something, I'll give him my best," Brown said. "I could be 42 years old, 44 years old, trying to jam somebody up for an interception or catch a pass. But he knows I'll give him 120 percent every time I'm out there for him."

Still, Brown knows that after a career built on proving everyone wrong, the former eighth-round pick who was actually cut from the Patriots roster early in his career knows he has nothing left to prove in pro football.

"It's hard to even get (to the Super Bowl) and have a chance to win one, so to be able to be a part of five Super Bowl teams and come away with three wins ...," Brown said. "The only thing I can ask for is that we could get those other two back that we lost, and find a way to get in the game and help my team get over the hump and win those games."

Well, maybe time travel is the one thing Brown can't do.

Tim Weisberg covers the NFL for The Standard-Times. Contact him at timweisberg@hotmail.com